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Kiel Operation
The Kiel Operation was an amphibious landing operation at Eckernförde and Kiel undertaken by British forces from 2 to 6 February 1920 during the German Civil War. The objectives of the landing were to provide support for the advancing Danish army as well as to capture the strategic port of Kiel and the fortifications around the fjord, a major step in the ultimate goal of securing the Kiel Canal and capturing a significant portion of the German navy. The operation also had the political goal of proving to the French the feasibility of a large-scale offensive against the Red Germans. Operation Landing at Eckernförde and assault on Kiel On 2 February 1920, around 1,000 British troops landed in the small port town of Eckernförde, which was only a few miles north of Kiel and a few miles south of the German front-line with Denmark. This landing was only lightly opposed, with a small group of reportedly drunken armed sailors being the only forces stationed in the town, who were captured without a struggle. It was deemed too risky to land directly at Kiel, which was well defended by fortifications and mines. On 3 February an additional 5,000 British soldiers were landed at Eckernförde. German forces were forced to give ground in order to reinforce Rendsburg and Kiel. To the surprise of the British command, no counterattack was launched against Eckernförde. Some military analysts later evaluated that the amount of British troops present would have been insufficient to repel a large-scale counterattack. On 4 February the order to advance towards Kiel was given. 5,000 British troops advanced towards Kiel, a trip that lasted approximately ten hours, two hours longer than expected. Another 1,000 troops landed on the beaches northeast of Kiel, out of range of the fjord defences. At approximately 23:00, under the cover of night, the fighting began. The British troops were divided between two main goals: capturing the port and securing the fjord defences. The troops advancing from the northeast had the main focus of capturing the fortifications on the eastern side of the fjord. The majority of those advancing from Eckernförde were tasked with capturing the port, with a small contingent being sent to capture the fortifications on the western side of the fjord. Mutinies and defections in the Royal Navy On the same day, the Royal Navy was intended to bombard the fortifications around the fjord to aid the advance of the ground forces, and were to seize the bay after the capture of the harbour by the ground troops. However, the crew of the cruiser HMS Ceres mutinied. Reserve marines were called to quell the mutiny. However, upon attempting to board, these marines were fired on by the mutinous sailors and were forced to retreat. Commanding Admiral Walter Cowan initially attempted to defuse the situation by promising pay increases. However, soon the sailors of his flagship mutinied, with rumours having spread of summary executions taking place on other ships. With this threatening to derail the operation, Cowan threatened to have the mutinous sailors executed. Though this mostly quelled the unrest among the sailors of Cowan's flagship, the mutiny had already spread to the destroyers HMS Vortigern and HMS Vectis. Facing the potential of an assault by reserve marines, which they feared would lead to executions, the crews of Vortigern and Vectis seized control from their officers. The crew of Vortigern ''beached themselves at Laboe, near the entrance to the Bay of Kiel, while the crew of ''Vectis abandoned their ship near the coast. Prior to this, both crews replaced the Union Jack with a red flag, a universal symbol of socialism. The crews were intercepted by German reinforcements advancing from the east, who had repelled an assault by British troops hours earlier. The crew of Ceres followed shortly after, steaming into the Bay of Kiel. The German soldiers manning the fortifications at the Friedrichsort Fortress were unaware of the revolutionary intent of the crew and fired on Ceres, which sustained light damage before orders were given to hold fire. Some of the crew abandoned the ship in rowboats, and Ceres was eventually intercepted by a German torpedo boat. The ship was eventually captured and towed to port after the battle. Fearing that more ships would follow, Cowan ordered loyal reserve marines to board the remaining ships, who successfully quelled the remaining unrest without much resistance. Disaster at Kiel While the Royal Navy was crippled by mutinies, the unaware British troops continued the effort to seize the harbour and fortifications throughout the rest of 4 February and into early 5 February. However, by the late morning no major objectives had been secured and as much as 1/4th of the force had been lost due to unexpectedly stiff resistance. The British plan had relied on the harbour being seized rapidly and fortifications neutralized so that the fjord could be seized, German ships captured and supplies landed. The present German garrison, however, was larger than British intelligence had estimated, and notably included at least two armored cars. The British troops failed to come within a notable distance of the harbour facilities at any point in the battle. With the severe lack of success, the British troops were now without fresh supplies and could not maintain their positions. Thousands of troops successfully retreated back to Eckernförde, while others were trapped after the arrival of German reinforcements. Exhausted and with no hope of victory, the trapped troops, numbering 2,257, surrendered and were taken as prisoners of war. Aftermath After the crushing defeat at Kiel, the British troops that had successfully retreated initially fortified themselves in Eckernförde. However, it soon became clear that no Danish breakthrough would be relieving them, and so all troops were evacuated on 6 February, ending the operation. The town was reoccupied by German forces the following day, who now chose to station a larger force. The three British ships that had defected were repaired and entered service in the Volksmarine, being named after British socialists. Most of the mutinous crew members had their British citizenship revoked, and many chose to become German citizens after being released from detainment in December 1920. The officers were taken as prisoners of war. The failed operation and the mutiny-defections had a profound effect on the British command. Operations against the Red Germans were suspended, and the defeat only reinforced the fears and apprehensions of the French, whom the British had hoped would participate in a full scale intervention if the Kiel Operation succeeded. British involvement in the German Civil War became mostly limited to its participation in the occupation of the Rhineland, except for a limited role in the Baden-Württemberg Offensive. All involvement would cease after the signing of the Treaty of Aachen. Reports on the operation in the British media were suppressed until months after the end of the civil war. Most of the 2,257 captured at Kiel were released as per the terms of the treaty, though a few chose to remain in Germany. Category:German Civil War